Five Times
by AyLee Cambell
Summary: Different five times fics, some five and one fics. All involving Parker and Eliot in some way or another. None are really related to any of the others, all are just for fun.
1. Rescue

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Title: Five times Parker and Eliot have rescued each other

Warnings: Not beta'd

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Sadly it's true!

requested by pluckychick256. Hope this is what you wanted!

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1. Parker's crazy ninja skills

When Eliot get's captured they're all a little shocked.

And they aren't quite sure who to send for a rescue attempt.

Parker rolls her eyes. "I'll go." She tells them.

Hardison, Nate, and Sophie all pause for a moment and trade glances. They aren't sure if she can handle it or not but out of all of them she is the best one to go, and probably the most capable of taking care of herself after Eliot.

Hardison can't go for a number of reasons. They need him to work the security system, because he'll panic the moment a gun is pointed in his direction, and he's loud.

Sophie is a talented actress to the right audience, but she's more lover than fighter.

Nate, well he can shoot, somewhat, and he can talk his way through a lot but he doesn't fight and the ones who have Eliot aren't letting anyone in the building that they don't know, so talking doesn't do him much good.

Parker is quiet and can sneak her way in and out of practically anywhere. She's the logical choice to send, but they are still a little nervous about sending her into a situation where she might have to fight people. They aren't sure how she's going to do, but Eliot is being held there and he has to be rescued.

"Do you even know how to fight? Just in case you run into one of those goons?" Hardison asks her and she rolls her eyes again.

"I'll be fine." She promises.

Not seeing any other choice and trusting Parker not to get caught they let her go.

"What took you so long?" Eliot asked as soon as she unties him.

He was starting to worry that no one was coming for him but he was pretty sure they wouldn't just leave him there. So he's more than just a little happy to see Parker at that moment.

"So what's the plan?" He asks as the walk to the door.

"We walk out." She tells him and darts out the door.

"Parker." He hisses, following her. "You can't just walk out there, they have guns. Look, at least get behind me." He tells her.

Parker shrugs but lets him go in front of her.

They come across the first unconscious body when Parker says, "I've already taken care of them."

He looks down at the man laying on the floor than looks at Parker and his lips quirk up in a half smile.

"So I see." He tells her and they both make their way out of there and back to the office.

On the ride back Eliot asks her where she learned how to fight and she looks at him for a moment, as if thinking if she really wants to let him know. After a moment she must decide it's alright because she starts to talk.

"I had a foster parent that wasn't so bad once. He taught me some things. I liked learning how to fight so I kept at it when I got put somewhere else. I'm not an expect, but I can do some damage." She tells him, smirking slightly.

Eliot smiles back at her, a small smile but still a smile. He's usually the one kicking everyone's ass and for once it's kind of nice to not have had to. Though he never would have thought that Parker would be his hero, but he supposes that he could do worse.

Parker's comm had gotten destroyed in one of the fights she'd had rescuing Eliot, so they were in a hurry to get back, knowing the others were probably worrying about them. And they're right, but as soon as they come in the office the others relax a little. Nate sighs in relief, Sophie gets them something to drink and they all listen to what happened. After the end of it all Hardison looks at Parker in awe.

"You really are some kind of crazy ass ninja aren't you?" He asks.

Eliot smirks and Parker shrugs.

* * *

2. Eliot falls down a well.

"I didn't fall Hardison, I was pushed." Eliot growls through the comms, angry and in pain. He's pretty sure he's broken his leg, otherwise he'd have attempted to climb out by now.

"Then why hasn't that person tried to help you up yet? Or done a Lassie and gone for help? I think you just don't want to admit that you fell." Hardison says while laughing.

"Hardison, stop laughing. Sophie, Parker? Which one of you is closer and which one of you is going to be able to get him out of there without help?" Nate says.

"I can." Parker says. "I've got some of my supplies in the trunk of the car. It'll only take me twenty minutes to get him out if I'm going slow. They wont even notice that I'm gone with Sophie in there." Parker tells them all through her comm.

"Great, do it Parker. Sophie, make sure they don't look out the window while they're out there."

"Got it Nate. He wont even remember he has a window with me in there." Sophie's voice comes out a little more than a purr and they hear Nate sigh.

"Just don't give him a heart attack before he signs the paperwork, got it Sophie?" Nate is saying and Parker tunes out the rest of the conversation as she makes her way back to the car she'd been using for the job they were currently on.

Pulling out a rope or two she grabs them, a small bag with a few other supplies, and her gloves then turns to make her way to the well.

Hardison is still giving Eliot a hard time about his fall and Nate has given up on telling him to stop laughing. Of course he's apologetic a moment later when Eliot tells Parker that he may have a broken leg.

Once Parker is down the well and rigging him up a harness they hear Hardison tell them that they may have a problem.

"Uh guys, there's someone walking around out there, your going to have to stay down there and be quiet until they leave." Hardison tells them and Parker looks at Eliot.

"Maybe it's whoever pushed you in here." She murmurs.

"He's probably long gone by now." Eliot says, grunting lowly as he changes positions to try to get a little more comfortable in the small space that now has two people in it. "I would be if I pushed someone down a well."

"How many people have you pushed down a well than?" Hardison asks him.

"Hardison! Quiet!" Nate says over the comm, and they can all hear he's annoyed.

Parker looks at Eliot.

"You okay?" She asks, seeing him wince a little.

"Fine." He growls out, more because of the pain than at Parker. She did come down the damn well after him so he can't be mad at her, she's trying to help and that's more than the others at the moment.

They stay down the well for about twenty minutes before they are able to come out. Whoever was out there never noticed them or the rope that they were using.

Parker climbs out first than pulls him out with the rope using a small device made pretty much for this purpose or something close to it. It's quiet because she's altered it to be and soon they are making their way back to the car with Eliot leaning on Parker.

Eliot hasn't had to lean on that many people in his lifetime and he never thought that he'd have to accept Parker's help, or that he'd really want to, but right at that moment it's not so bad.

When they get to the car she helps him into the backseat and gets into the driver's seat, ready to take him to a private doctor that they all occasionally use as soon as they can leave.

"You two are done and Sophie is almost out. Give it five minutes and she'll be out and then you can all go." Nate tells them.

Later on when it's just the two of them and she's getting ready to leave after helping him home he stops her for just a moment.

"Hey Parker." He tells her and she pauses to look at him. "Thanks."

The smile he receives is almost worth the hassle of a broken leg, but that might just be the pain pills talking.

* * *

3. Eliot rescues Parker

They caught Parker as she was coming in. It had been a trap from the beginning. The man they had set out to help had set them up to take the blame for a theft he'd already committed and now the bad guys had Parker and thought she was the one behind everything.

Eliot was halfway there when they started to interrogate her. He winced as he heard the sounds of a fist meeting her face or some other part of her and the gasping choking noises she was making. She doesn't scream, just makes little noises.

He tightens his hands on the wheel, still a few minutes away, and hits the gas on the car, speeding even faster and changing lanes with skill that's almost too reckless. He ignores the honking from the other cars and the yelling he leaves behind and he's at his destination in two minutes. Slamming on the brakes he slides into parking and jumps out of the car, barely turning it off before he's out and only because they are going to need the car for a getaway.

He runs into the house and kicks the door down than takes down the first five men he comes across, too angry to even count the number properly and at this point he really doesn't care as long as they stay down. He takes down everyone else in his way and doesn't stop until he's kicking down the door to the room their holding her in.

The guy leaning over Parker is thrown around for a few minutes, crying out the from the pain he's feeling before Eliot finally throws him down and away. He'd dead or unconscious and Parker still needs to be freed so he's done playing for now. But he's reserving the right to come back and finish it later on.

Looking at her he sees that the left side of her face is bruised up and swollen and her cheek and lip are bleeding on the right side. He cuts her loose and picks her up, noticing that she's close to unconscious and probably can't walk by herself, besides she light and doesn't hinder his movements.

"I got her Nate." He says through his comm and hears Sophie's "Thank god." but doesn't pay attention to it.

"How is she?" Nate asks and Eliot is almost to the car, not waiting around for anyone else or for anyone to decide that they might want to try a round two now that he's distracted. Opening the car door is a little awkward with Parker in his arms but he manages.

"Hurts." Parker wines a little bit and winces from the pain it causes her. "Eliot-"

"Shh. Your going to be fine. It'll hurt for a bit but you'll be okay." He tells her, placing her in the backseat and pushing the hair out of her face. He studies her face for a moment than gets back out and moves to the driver's seat so he can get them out of there.

"Nothing looks broken, but her face is pretty bruised up and swollen. She's also got a couple of cuts. Tell Sophie to get ice and painkillers. She's going to need them." He says, and knows that he'll be coming back soon or getting Hardison to track them down if they are all gone when he gets back.

His driving is smooth and gentle on the way back compared to how he drive to get there and he's obeying all the speed limits. But his hands are still tight on the steering wheel and he's trying to convince himself he'd be this angry and afraid if it had been anyone else on the team but he's starting to think that it might just be because it was Parker that this happened to, and that gives him a whole new something to think about and he doesn't want to do that right now. So instead he pushes it away and tries to focus on something else.

Like what it is that he's going to do to them when he catches them and that makes him smile grimly.

* * *

4. Parker defuses a bomb

They've been locked in a room together, and Eliot is a little scared. He doesn't like bombs. He's starting to think he hates them more than guns. He knows how to program a timer on them but he doesn't really know much more than that. He got lucky with the bomb he and Hardison came across and he's starting to think that maybe his luck is changing because here he is now, trapped in a room with another bomb and he has no idea what to do to make it stop.

Parker is looking at it though and that makes him both a little more nervous and a little relieved. She works with bombs right? She should know how to make one stop, even if all he's ever seen her do is make one blow up.

"You know what your doing right Parker?" He asks.

"It's a simple design, and if they didn't deviate from the normal than it should be simple to disarm it." Parker tells him and he has a moment of relief before what she said clicks and the panic is back.

"If they didn't deviate? What if they did Parker?" He asks and watches her shrug. "No don't shrug at me. What if they changed it?"

"Than cutting this wire would blow us up instead. But the likely hood of that happening are pretty slim." She tells him.

"How slim?" He asks, not really wanting to know but having to ask.

"Really slim? We don't' have a choice anyway. I either cut this one or that one and most of the time people stick to the instructions." She says and does something than turns to look at him.

"You okay?" She asks.

"No Parker, I'm not okay. Your about to cut the wire to a bomb that could go off at anytime and you don't know if it's the right wire or not." He tells her and hopes that she get it. They could both die and she's acting like it's no big deal. But than, to Parker this may not be. It's probably better that she's not panicking anyway since she has to cut the damn wire.

"Would you relax we'll be fine." She tells him and he glares at her.

"Don't tell me to relax until that thing is taken care of. Just cut it and get it over with would you?" He questions than pauses.

"Wait." He tells her and pulls her to him. "If we're going to die, might as well." He says and kisses her.

They kiss for a moment and it's a good kiss. Than he pulls away and Parker tries to go with him.

"Defuse the bomb first Parker, we can continue if we survive." He says, somewhat amused. At least his last few moments will be good ones.

"What?" Parker asks, pulling back to concentrate.

"Cut the wire on the bomb, than if we're still alive I'll take you out to dinner." He tells her and smirks.

Parker laughs and smirks back. "You owe me dinner than. I cut the wire a few minutes ago."

* * *

5. Eliot rescues Parker

The scream from the break room sends them all running. What they find shocks and surprises them all a little bit. Parker is crouched on the counter by the cupboards and pointing erratically. Following their finger they see what they believe to be a rat.

Sophie shrieks and runs out of the room. Nate gives Hardison and Eliot a look before following her.

"Rat! Vermin! Get it away! Get it AWAY!!" Parker yells and clings harder to one of the cupboards.

Hardison looks down again and looks at the rat. "Owen!" He says surprised and a little overjoyed. "I thought I lost you!"

"It's yours?" Parker demands, disgusted.

Eliot's a little disgusted too. Who the hell has a pet rat and names him Owen?

"He's harmless. I had to bring him the other day cause I had to give him some medication and he couldn't be left alone but I was doing that thing and I thought I lost him. Wow, guess I'll bring him home." He picks "Owen" up and looks at him, and is almost cooing at the rat.

"Tosh and Martha have missed you. I think Tosh a little more than Martha, figures though. She always did have a thing for you." Hardison is saying.

Parker and Eliot exchange a look, agreeing that there was a new top crazy person in the house. Jumping off buildings had to be okay when compared to THAT.

"Get him out of here Hardison." Parker yelled, trying to break whatever hold the rat had on him.

"He's harmless. He didn't mean to scare you, did you Owen?" Hardison says than takes a few steps closer to Parker. "See? Harmless. Bet you'll even think he's sort of cute up close."

Parker threw some kind of snack at him the moment he stepped even closer. "You come near me with that thing and I'll kill you with a fork. Get it out of here!" She yelled.

"No! He is not an IT Parker! I'm not leaving till you apologize." Hardison says, cradling "Owen" to his chest as if he really did have feelings to injure.

"Hardison, I'm not kidding. Get the Vermin out of here or I will kill you." Parker threatens, holding up a fork. When he refuses to move she looks at Eliot, whose trying to decide if this whole thing is funny or disturbing and finally deciding that it's both.

"What?" He asks, seeing her looking at him but not sure what she wants.

"Help me." Parker demands but it comes out more of a whine than a threat.

He sighs a little but dodges Hardison and his rat and comes over to Parker. He's not quite sure what's going to happen next though. But if she wants him to disable Hardison that wouldn't be too bad, maybe even a little fun.

Instead though he's a little surprised when Parker practically attaches herself to him. "Go!" She yells, glaring at Hardison and brandishing her fork in a threatening way.

"Oh yeah fine you cheater, I'm just staying right here until you come back and apologize, just see if I don't!" Hardison yells after them as Eliot leaves the room, Parker in his arms.

He brings her into her office and goes to put her down but she wont let go of him. "Parker, come on, you can let go now." He tells her.

Parker shakes her head. "No, he might come after me." She tells him and tightens her grip on him.

Eliot looks at her, amused. "I doubt that. You heard Hardison, he'll probably be in the break room for a long time." He tells her, trying to calm her down a little. He's never seen Parker afraid and it's a little funny to see her so freaked out over a rat of all things.

"Not Hardison, him I can take. I meant the rat. He'll find me, I'm sure of it. His beady little eyes were following me the whole time." Parker tells him, looking up at him, eyes wide.

"And he wont follow you if you don't let go of me?" He asks, not quite sure what to do.

Parker shakes her head. "You saved me, I trust that you'll do it again if he comes." She tells him and looks at him with big eyes full of trust.

Eliot sighs but gives in. There is no way he can just put her down and leave her alone now. Besides, it's not like she's heavy or anything.

Which is how he ended up with Parker either clinging to his back, or with him carrying her around, for the rest of the day and every other time they were in the office for the rest of the week, and the reason why he wasn't allowed to go near Hardison for that entire length of time, and that, was worth all the strange looks Sophie and Nate gave him.

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	2. Naked

So, due to a request it looks like I might be doing some more of these things. Guess it'll become a mini series or something. They aren't really connected to each other just little ideas I got when I read the prompts. Everyone can thank bklyangel for this, since it was her that sicced the plot bunnies on me... Hopefully I'll live through it.

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Title: Five and one: Naked

Or 5 Times Parker has walked in on Eliot naked and the one time she joined him.

Author: AyLee Cambell

Warnings: Not Beta'd

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but if I asked all nice do you think they'd give them to me?

Rating: PG-13

Requested by bklyangel

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5 times Parker's walked in on Eliot naked.

* * *

1. Zip line

"What the hell is Parker doing?" Eliot demands as he comes storming out of his office, pulling a shirt over his head.

It's dark outside but the whole team is still there for some reason. They are in between jobs at the moment and are bored out of their minds while waiting for Nate to pick a new client, and they can't seem to bring themselves to leave yet. There was talk of a movie night.

Sophie looked up from her magazine and looked up at Eliot. "I don't really know. She said she was going to practice and I haven't seen her for about an hour. She said to call when we started the popcorn. Why?"

"Because she just stopped outside my window a few minutes ago. _**Outside**_ my window. While I was _**changing**_." Eliot said and Sophie started laughing.

"Poor Parker, she probably didn't expect that." She said.

"I'd feel a little sorry for her if she didn't stay out there for five minutes while I grabbed my pants." Eliot growled out, crossing his arms.

Sophie laughed harder. "Well are you sure she wasn't too shocked to get back up to the roof?"

* * *

2. Shower

The race back to their hotel room had been a close one. He'd barely gotten the advantage and dodged into the room and locked the door before there was someone banging on it. He knew the lock wouldn't hold her for very long but he was hoping that she'd take the clue and wait.

He had won the race to the shower so he deserved to use it first. Even if he had cheated slightly when he pushed the bellhop into her path.

So he was relieved when it went quiet on the other side of the door and relaxed into the water as he started to scrub himself clean. He still couldn't believe he'd been the one to share a room with Parker. Even if it was for the sake of appearance for this job.

He should have known better though, because after a moment or two of silence there was a click and Parker was inside the bathroom, having picked the lock.

She came into the room, closing the door behind her, and sat on the toilet and stared at him.

"What?" He asked, slightly irritated. The shower curtain was a clear sheet of plastic that might as well have not been there.

"Are you done yet?" She demanded, glaring up at him and crossing her arms, covered in dirt and mud.

"NO! Now get out of here!" He demanded, going to shampoo his hair.

Parker shook her head. "Nope, you'll take longer if I leave and I want my turn now."

"PARKER! Get out! Don't make me throw the shampoo at you." He threatens through clenched teeth. All he wanted was a shower.

"Fine, but you better be quick or I'm coming back in!" Parker says while leaving.

* * *

3. Spill

Parker is the only other person in the office and he's almost sure he can get back to his office without being seen when she steps out of the break room and looks at him.

As soon as she sees him she smirks and her eyes almost start gleaming from the amusement he just knows she's feeling.

"What happened to you?" She demands, trying not to laugh.

"Don't even start Parker." He tells her, not quite ready to give up what little dignity he feels he has left. In a different kind of situation he wouldn't be so self conscious, but the circumstances behind this one make his ego almost non-existent.

"Hey don't even blame this one on me. I'm not the one running around here naked." She tells him.

Eliot Sighs, pretty sure he's never going to hear the end of it. "I'm not running around naked." He tells her, hoping she'll just ignore everything and go away.

Parker eyes him up and down slowly, eyes pausing long enough that he wants to snap his fingers and say 'eyes up here' but he doesn't. No need to make a bigger deal out of this than what's already happening. Maybe he'll even be able to fool her into thinking he doesn't have a problem with standing there naked in front of her.

"You're naked." She states, as if he hadn't noticed. But than, he had just told her he wasn't running around naked so maybe she thought he needed it pointed out to him.

"I'm not running." He states, with as much dignity as he can muster.

"Okay, walking around here naked. Sorry." She tells him than goes to step around him. "It's your business, not mine."

"It was an accident." He tells her, following behind her. He wants to make it clear that it wasn't on purpose. He doesn't go running around places naked for fun.

"What like all your clothes mysteriously dissolved?" Parker asks as she stops outside her office and looks at him, trying to keep her eyes on his face but failing every few minutes.

"Funny. More like I was working on something and spilled. The chemicals involved are ones you don't want on your skin so I had to get them off fast. I was just looking for something else when you saw me." He explains and hopes she accepts it. It's the truth but even he would have a hard time buying that.

"Whatever floats your boat, Sparky." She tells him and winks before going into her office.

"Parker!" He barks, following her in.

"Don't worry, I believe you." She says and adds, "Really." When he looks at her with narrowed eyes. Than smiling she looks him up and down again and sighs. "Or at least if I don't I wont tell the others."

"Good enough." He tells her and crosses his arms. He's almost forgotten that he's naked since Parker hasn't reacted like other people would have. Except for the glances every now and then that lasted longer than normal anyway.

"Good, now if you get dressed I'll help you erase the camera's before Hardison can see them." Parker tells him and watches him pale a little and speed to his office.

She smirks as he leaves. The back view is as good as the front. Well, maybe not better, but just as good.

* * *

4. On painkillers

Everyone is holed up in the hotel suite that they are all sharing. Their latest job didn't go exactly to plan. Instead Hardison ended up with a broken foot and Eliot had been given some kind of drug.

"What kind of drug was it that they gave Eliot?" Parker asks as she comes back from taking Eliot something to eat. She's wiping what appears to be salt and grease from her shirt and grimacing slightly. Some of the fries must have gotten on her or something.

Sophie and Nate exchange a look before looking at Parker. "We're not to sure, but they swore it wasn't dangerous to him. Why?" Nate asks and Parker looks at him.

"Because when I went in there he started singing "I'm too sexy" and started stripping down. He wouldn't let me leave until he was finished." She told them and both looked to the room Eliot was staying in.

"Oh dear." Sophie said, somewhere between laughing and concern.

Nate just shook his head and rubbed his face. "Sorry Parker, but you're on Eliot duty for the rest of the night."

Parker just sighed and picked up a new shirt before heading back towards his room. The things she had to do…

* * *

5. Having Sex

All you could hear from inside the room were a mixture of slightly odd sounds. If you didn't know what was going on in there you might wonder what the hell any of it was. If you did know what was going on, if you were normal anyway, you'd probably blush and back away silently.

Unfortunately for all involved, Parker was not normal.

"Don't you think you're being just a little unrealistic?" Parker asks, shocking the two almost naked adults on the bed. "I mean, even I can see she's not that flexible."

"Parker." Eliot growls, glaring at the spot he thinks she is because that's where he heard her voice coming from. "In the kitchen, now!"

Pouting, Parker turns to leave. "This wasn't my idea." She reminds him as she walks out.

Eliot bangs his head against the wall. He had forgotten he'd asked Parker to come over. He had needed her help with something but than he'd gotten distracted and forgotten.

"You could have knocked!" He yelled, knowing she'd hear him.

"You could have called!" She yelled back.

"Who is that?" The woman he was mostly naked with asked, not happy.

Eliot grimaced. How exactly was he going to explain this?

"Betty-"

"It's Betsy." She said shortly and rolled out of bed and started grabbing her clothes.

Eliot winced.

This was not going to end well.

* * *

And the one time she joined him.

Sauna

It happened, believe it or not, at the gym. It was late and no one else was around. They both had the gym membership that Hardison had hacked for them awhile ago. Neither had known that the other one was there until Parker walked into the sauna.

Parker froze, hand gripping the towel wrapped around her as she looked at the barely toweled Eliot who was already sitting in the sauna.

It wasn't too unusual for them to sometimes hang out away from work but most of the time that was planned and now she was a little unsure how to react. They didn't run into each other too often during their "private normal lives" so it was a little new.

Eliot looked at her, saw the slightly confused and unsure look on her face and smirked. Making a decision he decides to say something.

"In or out."

"What?" Parker asked, looking at him.

"In or out Parker. Get in or get out, but pick one and close the door."

Parker was a little unsure about what his look suddenly meant. She felt like a painting would feel with her staring at it. The feeling was a little odd.

"What happens if I pick in?" She asks, she wants to know her options.

Eliot moves a little and drops his towel.

"Oh." Parker says and studies him for a moment. Watching a few drops of sweat make their way down his chest and lower.

"I can live with that." She says and closes the door as she comes further into the sauna, dropping her towel as she comes closer.

* * *

Please review!


	3. Jealousy

Title: 5 times Eliot was jealous over Parker

Author: AyLee Cambell

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Not yet beta'd, when it is I'll re-post it.

Please review!

* * *

1. Punching your problems

"What the hell did you do that for?" Parker demands as they come into the office. She pulls off her coat and throws in onto one of the chairs before turning to look at Eliot. "I was handling it, so why did you interfere like that?"

"You were handling it? He was all over you Parker!"

"So? Why do you care? I was distracting him. I would have lost him in a moment if you hadn't come over and punched him!"

"Hold up, Eliot punched him? That was what all the commotion was about?" Nate asked.

"What did you think it was?" Parker demanded, turning to look at the others for a moment.

"We thought you did it. You know stabbed someone again or something." Hardison said, not see the look or shut up motions Sophie was making.

"Gee thanks guys, glad to know that's going to be held against me forever! Well guess what? This time Eliot screwed it up, not me!" Parker said and stormed into her office and slamming the door behind her.

"Great thanks for the help there guys. Can't you just butt out of it!" Eliot growled and stomped over to Parker's door. Trying the knob he found it was locked.

"Parker! Either let me in or I'll kick it down!" He demanded, and waited until he heard the click of it unlocking before shooting the others a look. "Stay out of this!" He told them before going into Parker's office and closing the door behind him.

"Well that's just great." Hardison said.

* * *

Parker glared at Eliot as he came into her office. The whole point of a lock is so that other people, who weren't her, wouldn't be able to get in.

Threats of being kicked down weren't supposed to be involved. It wasn't right. He pissed her off and should give her time to deal with it alone. The others wouldn't like it if she stabbed him with her letter opener and if what he said didn't make her happy that was probably what she was going to do. It wasn't her fault that her body sometimes reacted before she could think. It was all a reflex.

Still, explaining that to the others would be a bitch.

Eliot looked at Parker, who was glaring at him. It was slightly adorable in that 'my kitten has claws' way. It hurt, but was too damn cute for you to really care.

He sighed. He knew Parker was a whole lot more dangerous than a kitten and had to be taken seriously.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, knowing he was wrong. But he didn't have to like admitting it.

"Why?" Parker asked, trying not to let her anger control her. Sophie told her most people tried to talk it out rather than throw things on the person who pissed you off and than later get even by getting revenge.

So, she'd try it this way first, but if he made her any angrier she was going to start chucking things at him until he left then she'd put Nair in his shampoo. What he said better be good.

"I know you could have handled it, but I don't know, I really just wanted to punch the guy." Eliot growled, clenching his fists as if he wished he could punch the guy again.

Parker smirked, anger forgotten as she realized what was happening. She had read it in some book.

"You're jealous." She told him and smirked.

Eliot growled at her. "No I'm not." He said, just a little too quickly than thought about it.

"Maybe." He added than shook his head and started for the door. "Damnit."

Parker watched him leave, a small smile coming to her lips.

This could be a lot of fun.

* * *

2. My date and her dress

He'd seen the guy spot Parker as soon as they entered the room and the guy had waited until she had been alone to make his move. He didn't like it, not one bit. What kind of man hit on a woman who was with someone else? Alright, so he'd done it himself a few times, but that didn't mean that other guys got to hit on Parker. They were together now, and this little idiot wasn't going to be hitting on her while he was around.

"She's my date." Eliot drawled out from behind the guy currently hitting on Parker. "Why don't you go find a woman of your own and leave her alone?"

"Oh! Um, I wasn't-" The guy started to say but stopped trying to explain when Eliot growled at him. "I'll just be going now." He said and left very quickly. He had probably realized there was pain in his future if he didn't move fast enough.

Parker looked at Eliot with a exasperated look. She was pretty sure he hadn't been flirting with her, so she told him so. "Eliot, he wasn't flirting with me, he was just saying he liked my dress."

"That's flirting, darlin' and he can do it somewhere else." He told her. As much as he lov- _**liked**_, really, _**really liked**_, Parker, she could be a little clueless about these things.

"Oh. Then why was he asking where I got it so he could get one?" Parker asked, confused. Maybe she _**had**_ gotten it wrong…

* * *

3. Wishes

"What the hell do you think you're wearing?" Eliot demanded as soon as Parker came into sight.

All of them had decided to celebrate a job well done by going out on the town before they had to leave to go back home. They were currently in Mexico and trying to have a good time.

Eliot, Hardison, and Nate had gotten to the restaurant a little earlier than the girls. Mostly because Sophie had seen what Parker was planning to wear and had decided it was time to play dress up instead.

Now, here they were and Eliot was irritated and slightly angry. Some assholes in the corner wouldn't take their eyes off Parker and looked to be about two seconds from coming over to talk to her. He had to stop glaring at Sophie for dressing her like that so he could glare at the two idiots who had just stood up. They paled a little and sat back down once they noticed the look that promised a slow painful death if they came over.

Seeing they got his message he looked back at Parker and asked again, since he never got an answer from before.

"What the hell are you wearing?" He demanded.

"Relax Eliot, it's just a dress." Sophie told him and had the gall to smirk at him. As if she knew what he was thinking.

Of course, if she really knew what he was thinking she wouldn't be smirking at him, instead she might be booking the next flight out of Mexico. Still, she probably knew his secret, though how much of it was a secret anymore was debatable.

His reaction had probably just confirmed his attraction for Parker to everyone at this table. Well, almost everyone.

Parker, who had been ignoring everyone and instead going between pouting for being stuffed into an outfit she wouldn't be able to repel in and glaring at Sophie for being the one to stuff her into it, hadn't seemed to realize anything odd was going on. She hadn't even seemed to hear the question.

The dress, if it could be called that, was a backless halter type dress with a low cut front and a short and puffed out skirt. It hid very little and made him want to start knocking people unconscious so they wouldn't look at her.

He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to hide how he felt from Parker but he didn't think he'd be able to do it much longer.

"Ma'am? This is from the two guys at the table by the door." The waitress said, coming over and placing a drink down in front of Parker.

Eliot growled and memorized their faces as he glared at them. If they had such a big death wish, he would be happy to help them out. He'd find them later on.

* * *

4. Good talk

"Hardison, I like you, you don't bother me, most of the time. So I'll give you a warning instead of just popping your legs off like one of your action figures." Eliot starts but Hardison gasps at him like he just killed his Momma or something.

"So you're the one who killed Donna! She didn't do anything to you, why would you do that to her!" He demanded and Eliot stared at him.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. I was just using it as an example. God Hardison, will you just listen?" He asked.

Hardison looked at him through narrowed eyes. "I don't know if I want to, I mean whose next? Rose, or Jack? If you touch the Doctor I will have to kill you." He said than seemed to think about it, or his chances of actually being able to take Eliot down. "Or well, I'll register you as a sex offender. See how you like that."

Eliot rolled his eyes. "I didn't touch your dolls. Now will you just listen. I needed to tell you something. It's about me and Parker."

It was Hardison's turn to roll his eyes. "Dude, bro, if this is about the two of you, well, we all know. Don't worry about it, I ain't mad. Things happen. It's cool that you wanted to check with me though." Hardison told him and held out a fist for a fist bump.

Eliot looked at it for a moment before slowly bumping his fist with his own. "I'm glad that you don't have any problems with it, but I really came here to make sure you take out any of the camera's from her office. We all know they're there and it's a little weird man." He said, trying not to say things like 'slightly stalker-ish' and 'creepy.'

"Oh, and _**bro**_." Eliot said, putting the emphasis on bro. "If Parker has to change in front of you again, or for any reason is taking off clothes, make sure you don't look, I'm sure you'd hate to loose your eyes." He said, in a cheerful voice and patted him "gently" on the back.

"Good talk." Eliot said and turned to walk away, smirking as soon as he knew Hardison couldn't see.

Really, he was a lot nicer than he could have been. Parker wasn't one to be shy and had changed in her office regardless of the camera's before, so really, he was being really nice.

Cause, no one but him got to see Parker naked, especially not Hardison.

* * *

5. Date night

When Parker comes in one day and announces that she has a date they are all more than a little startled and surprised.

Sophie is the first one to recover though and starts asking a whole bunch of questions. Then she demands that they go shopping to pick out the perfect outfit to wear.

Nate takes another drink and smiles at them before turning to Hardison and telling him to start looking up everything on this guy as soon as the girls leave.

Hardison nods and get's busy pulling up everything, even what the guy had to eat for the last month.

They wanted to make sure he was good enough for their girl, and wasn't going to be a threat, or someone just using her for some reason. They wanted to know if he was clean. God help him if they found something they didn't like or if he hurt her.

Eliot though, felt a burning feeling in his gut and his fingers curled into fists before he realized it. At first he thought it was just a protective feeling like Nate and Hardison. But as the day went on and it started to get closer to the time Parker would be leaving to go to dinner the burning feeling grew and he started to wish that it was him and not this Kurt Malcolm guy.

He spends most of the day locked in his office with a picture of "Kurt" on the wall. He's using it as a target for his throwing knives. He doesn't understand why he hates him so damn much but the sight of the guy makes him see red and makes him slightly sick.

They only way he feels even slightly better is when he's throwing the knives at the photo.

* * *

Still, he didn't figure it out until Sophie told him.

"You're jealous." She told him, smirking at him as soon as he finished telling her what he'd been feeling all day.

"No, no way." He denied. There was no way that he was jealous of this Kurt guy for going out on a date with Parker. It was Parker, for God's sake.

So that's what he told her, and she laughed at him.

"Well, you're either jealous because Kurt is going on a date with Parker." Sophie said, pausing for a moment because he had growled when she said his name. "Or, you're jealous of Parker because she's going out on a date with Kurt. But as she just met him and you didn't know him before today I'm thinking it's the first one." She told him.

"Alright, so I'm jealous. What am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"You're not going to like it." Sophie said than sighed. "Parker is going to go out on her date tonight and you are going to think about it. If you think you really do have feelings for her, than tell her. But you don't get to ruin tonight for her, no matter how much you may not like the idea of her out with someone else."

Eliot wants to protest but sees the logic behind it. Besides, Parker is excited for the date tonight and he doesn't want to mess with that. He'll just have to tell her how he feels as soon as he can, he's not sure he can handle seeing her with another guy now that he knows he has feelings for her.

* * *

The date goes terribly. They don't have that many common interests and they just aren't connecting. He doesn't get her, and Parker doesn't get normal so they both know it isn't going to work. He starts flirting with the waitress and making a couple snide comments and Parker looks ready to stab him with the steak knife they really shouldn't have given her.

Instead of stabbing him though Parker's eyes start to shift to the exists and she remembers just in time what Sophie told her before she entered the restaurant so instead of making a break for the door she calmly tells Kurt that she's going to the bathroom. From there she sneaks out the window and meets the others in the surveillance van.

While she's doing all of this they can see Kurt on the camera's paying for the meal and trying to leave before she get's back and he's slipping his number to the waitress before walking quickly to the exit.

The only good thing about that is that he had the decency to pay before he left. That didn't stop Eliot from breaking his nose as soon as he was outside and out of sight though.

As soon as he get's back into the van he looks at Parker and notices that she's trying not to cry and the others are pretending not to notice because she obviously doesn't want them to say anything about it.

When they get back to the office, Parker goes straight for hers and Sophie is right behind her.

Hardison goes for his computer, probably to do something that will make Kurt regret ever being born.

Nate pours himself a drink then drifts over to Hardison's corner, and makes a suggestion every now and then.

That leaves Eliot to stare at the closed door where the two girls are and he's not quite sure what to do. He's torn, he'd really like to track down Kurt and give him a few more broken bones but he's also slightly grateful to the guy for being scum. It means that he'll get his chance to make a move.

A few minutes later Sophie is coming out and heading towards the kitchen. She motions for him to follow her and nods at the other two to stay where they are and to continue what they are doing.

"How is she doing?" He asks as he watches her start the coffee machine.

"She's mostly fine. The date was a bad one but she'll get over it. She was just excited about it and it didn't go the way she planned, so she didn't know how to take it. Besides, you heard him, he wasn't too nice when he realized things weren't working out." Sophie said and shook her head.

She would make sure the guys got the appropriate amount of revenge for Parker, and if they didn't, then she knew a few people she could call to make his life miserable for a very long time.

"Anyway, maybe you should take her some coffee while I go talk to Nate and Hardison."

"You really think now is the best time to tell her?" He asks, confused.

Sophie rolls her eyes at him. "No, I really don't think right now is the right time. Right now you should take her coffee and be nice and supportive, and how her all guys aren't bad. Than give it a few days and ask her."

"Oh." Eliot says and grabs a couple cups and fills them with coffee.

He could do that.

* * *


	4. Telling Hardison

Four ways Hardison was told about Eliot and Parker…

_**If you haven't seen the new episode, than be careful there are some slight spoilers. Nothing big but...**_

This was purely meant to be funny.

Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage or the characters. If I did...well I don't. So I only get to play with them a little but I have to give them back when I'm done. (Which just isn't nice.)

* * *

1. At the bank

* * *

"I did look for you. For six months." Hardison said as he watched Parker get ready to open the security box.

"Done." Parker said and he just looked at her. "The key. Done."

Hardison handed her the key and Parker started on the box. She could feel him watching her.

"I think people are like locks. Really complicated and frustrating, but you can't force them. You have to take time and be fiddly." Parker started.

"Fiddly?" Hardison asks amused.

"You learn to be patient and just wait until you hear the-" The lock clicks and Parker stops talking.

"What?" Hardison asked, not understanding what she was trying to say.

Parker sighed. "Yeah, I didn't get it either. You didn't find me cause you were looking too hard. Eliot and I have been laying low most of the past six months in various places. We've just been staying off the radar and fucking mostly. It was fun."

"WHAT?" Hardison demanded, face slack and eyes wide in complete shock.

"Yeah, he's great in bed, and not afraid to try things. It was a fun couple of months." Parker mused.

Hardison whimpered.

"_**Months?"**_

* * *

2. Car alarm

* * *

"What are the odds that Eliot's crotch will actually explode?"

Hardison laughs and Eliot walks away cursing him.

Hardison dials Sophie and tells her what she needs to know.

Parker is still looking at him.

"What?" He asks.

"What are the odds that Eliot's crotch will actually explode? I kind of like everything where it is."

"Where it is - what?" Hardison asks, confused and shocked.

"I like his cock, Hardison, I don't want it to explode." Parker tells him and Hardison's eyes go wide.

"What- you- his- Seriously? _Seriously! _How did that happen? Seriously?"

Parker shrugged. "It was a long six months. We were both in DC at the same time…"

"I looked for you!" Hardison protested.

Parker looked at him. "He found me." She said simply and started to walk off.

Hardison watched her walk away before starting after her, dialing a number on his phone.

"Seriously?" He asked.

* * *

3. Going out

* * *

"Hey man!" Eliot said, coming up from behind Hardison and slapping him on the back. "Here's you're beer!"

"Gent-ly. Gently, please." Hardison said, sitting back up after almost being knocked of the bar stool.

Hardison had no idea why Eliot had invited him out drinking and no one else, but bonding was bonding and they hadn't seen each other in six months so it was possible he had been missed.

Still, it was a little weird, especially when Eliot kept paying for everything and refused to let him even bring out his wallet.

"Look Hardison, I have something to tell you." Eliot started and Hardison's stomach sank. This was it, he just knew it. He had saw this coming ever since Eliot -

"I'm dating Parker. It just happened. I know you're probably mad but I didn't-" Eliot started.

"_Oh, thank god!" _Hardison burst out, interrupting Eliot.

Eliot looked at him. "You know, this wasn't the reaction I thought you'd have."

"I know, I know. But hey I'm happy for you two man. If it couldn't be me, than I'm glad it was you. I'll get over it." He said, and slapped Eliot on the shoulder. He was slightly disappointed that the other man didn't even wobble on his barstool.

"Thanks man, you're taking this better than I thought you would." Eliot said and took a drink of his beer.

"Well yeah, I thought you were trying to hit on _**me**_." Hardison said.

Eliot sprayed beer out of his mouth in pure shock. "_What_?" He demanded.

Hardison didn't take that as well, but mostly because he was now wearing the beer.

* * *

4. Together

* * *

"You tell him." Parker hissed out.

"No way, you tell him." Eliot argued back.

Both were whispering loudly behind Hardison as he sat in front of his computer and tried to ignore them. But it wasn't working. Normally he might go deaf from focusing on the computer but right than he was just downloading so it wasn't anything that involved his full attention.

Which left him able to hear everything they said. He decided to point this out to them.

"You two know I can hear you right?" He asked, turning to face them.

From the silence and guilty expressions he guessed that no, they did not know he could hear them.

"What is it? You two get me a gift for my birthday? You shouldn't have, really, it's still months away. But I'll take it anyway!" Hardison said, holding out his hands.

He had been joking, so he was surprised when they handed him a small box.

"What? What is this? Cause if it goes boom, I was just kidding." He said, not trusting the two of them, especially not with all the whispering from earlier.

Who were they trying to kid, he knew they wouldn't get him a present, especially when it wasn't his birthday. Chances were, anything in the box was something he wouldn't like.

"There isn't a ear or a finger in here right?" Hardison asked Eliot, eyeing him up and down cautiously. Seriously, of the group these were the two you probably _didn't_ want a gift from.

Parker and Eliot just looked at each other and nudged each other slightly. Than gestured to Hardison. It would have been funny that they mirrored each other if he wasn't still worried about what was in the box and how they hadn't answered him on if there was some stranger's body part.

"If it's human I don't want it." Hardison felt the need to point out.

Parker pouted and Hardison went pale, holding the box out with two fingers. "Take it back! Take it back!"

Eliot rolled his eyes. "It's not a finger Hardison, stop being a baby!" He growled.

"It's an ear! I don't need another ear!" Hardison wailed, wiggling the box toward Eliot.

Eliot growled again. "It's not an ear either! God Hardison!" Eliot said but when Hardison didn't stop he looked at Parker, who was still pouting. "I don't know why…" He mumbled than took a deep breath.

"Parker and I have a thing!" He yelled and Hardison stopped altogether.

"So you gave me this to break it to me?" He asked, pulling the box closer to him and looking at it for a moment.

"You think you can just buy my feelings off? Think that you can get me a present that will take back all the betrayal and trust issues I'm going through now? What about the insecurities and self-doubt? Huh? You think this is going to make up for all of that? What could possibly make up for the damaged you caused?" He asked, only half serious.

Opening the box he looked at it than looked back at them. "A key. Really. A key? If this is another one of the key and locks metaphors, I will give you bad credit, and I will not rest until every one of your false identities is registered on every STD website I can find or create." He threatened.

"The key opens a room Hardison." Eliot said and Parker crossed her arms.

"He said he didn't want them! I worked hard Eliot! None of them liked being stolen!" She protested.

"Them? Parker did you steal people?" Hardison asked, starting to get a bad feeling. He wasn't going to walk into a room of angry strippers was he? Cause they would probably just strangle him with a thong or something and that wasn't something he wanted in his obituary.

"Just a few?" Parker told him.

"You let her steal people?" Hardison asked Eliot incredulously and watched him shrug.

"By the time I got involved she already got two of them and I figured why not? We'd just return them later."

Parker nodded while beaming at Hardison. Within a moment though the smile was wiped away into a frown and she got a far off look on her face. "Still, who knew David Tennant bites when he's surprised? I thought he'd be a little nicer."

"David Tennant-" Hardison asked, mouth dropping in shock.

"_**Did you just steal the Doctor?" **_He demanded in a shrill voice.

Parker nodded and Eliot looked at him.

"And John Barrowman, and Catherine Tate, and Billie Piper, and let me tell you, they weren't easy to get." Eliot said.

"Catherine scratches." Parker said seriously than turned to Eliot. "But John was nice to you." Parker pointed out.

Eliot looked at her, eyes darkening slightly. "I wasn't interested darlin'." He told her.

Hardison ignored the exchange, focusing on the bigger problem. He didn't know if should be feeling insulted on behalf of the people Parker and Eliot had stole or-

"_**Where!?" **_

Eliot and Parker stopped having eye sex to look at him.

"What?" Parker asked, confused.

"_Where_ are they?" Hardison asked, bouncing. Screw having morals, he was going to meet the Doctor! And Captain Jack, and Rose and Donna!

"Come on let's go. Just point the way! They may be mad, but I'll tell them I'm there to rescue them from the two crazy people who did this to them. I'll take my badge and they'll be thankful. Why aren't you two moving? You need to show me where to go!"

He said, and grabbed them by the arms when they didn't move fast enough. He tried pulling them but gave up when they started to move on their own.

"Oh guys? I was wrong, you can totally buy me." He stopped at the door to look at them.

"_Best. _Present. **EVER. **You two should do this more often. Ya'll getting married soon? Having a baby? Cause the new Star Trek movie was _awesome_…"

* * *

Please review!


	5. Random

Five times: Random

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I only get to play with them. Then I'm forced to put them back. - But I do own the song. It's mine, ask permission if you want to use.

AN: This was written for icycolour for the Leverage fic exchange over on livejournal.

* * *

The Song

* * *

He heard the quiet sounds of her feet on the floor before he saw her. Parker was making it a habit to sneak into his house at least once a week. He wasn't sure why exactly, but it didn't really matter.

At the moment he just smiled and kept his head down, even though he knew Parker was now standing in the doorway and looking at him. But she didn't make any sound so he kept strumming softly on his guitar.

He knew Parker knew he knew she was there, but she never interrupted him when he was playing, she preferred to just listen to him and talk to him afterwards. It was a little peaceful to have her there, a quiet presence in the background.

But this time he didn't want to ignore her. In fact, he had been counting on her dropping by. With a few more strums he was finished with the music that went with the song he had just finished writing and now it was ready to be played.

He knew exactly who he wanted to play for, and luckily for him, she was there.

Looking up Eliot smiled at Parker and motioned her into the room. Parker walked over to one of the stools in the room and sat down, crossing her legs meditation style, hands on knees, and looked at him.

Smirking slightly he started playing. Than he started singing.

_._

_The strangest things _

_Makes you sad, makes you mad_

_The things that motivate you wouldn't touch me_

_You laugh when it's silent_

_Smile when no one thinks you will_

_Everything about you makes you different_

_But you don't mind it at all_

_._

_People say there's something wrong with that one_

_But they just don't get it _

_They don't understand_

_There's nothing wrong with being different_

_From standing out from a crowd_

_There's something fragile there_

_Hidden away in your smile_

_But they don't see _

_._

_At first it seemed so weird_

_At first it seemed so far fetched_

_That we could ever understand_

_You're just to far from our reach _

_But now we know the truth_

_We're just as weird to you_

_But you still try to pull us close_

_So now we'll try too_

_._

_People say there's something wrong with that one_

_But they just don't get it _

_They don't understand_

_There's nothing wrong with being different_

_From standing out from a crowd_

_There's something fragile there_

_Hidden away in your smile_

_But they don't see _

_._

_You've been hurt before_

_But never again, not on my watch_

_I'll slay your demons down_

_If you'll just stay with me_

_Oh darling, just stay close_

_Cause I'm starting to understand_

_And I'm starting to see_

_I'll be your strength,_

_If you'll just stay with me_

.

When Eliot finishes the song he doesn't say anything, just turns to look at her.

Parker is looking at him with wide eyes, eyes that may be a little teary. But she was also smiling at him, so he took that as a good sign. Leaning forward he tucked some of her hair behind her ear and moved in slowly, giving her time to back away. She didn't, so he kissed her. It was slow and sweet.

Afterwards he pulled back a little and looked her in the eyes.

"Stay?" He asked and Parker smiled wide and nodded.

* * *

The Past 

* * *

He was sick and tired of it all, he knew he had to get out. So he packed his bags and told them he was leaving. There was even more yelling, threats, and some violence. But he did it, he left home at 17 and he didn't look back. It was the best thing for everyone.

She ran away from the homes when she was 15. She could provide for herself better then any of them could, and if she was alone then they couldn't hurt her. There wouldn't be anyone to lie to her or be mean and nasty. She was happy on her own, even if it meant she had no money and had to steal everything. She was getting good anyway, and soon enough she might even be able to afford to buy something instead of stealing it.

He got his first job not long after he left. At first he was sent to collect money from people, then one day he got in over his head and had to be rescued by some ex-navy seal. Learning to fight from your mean drunk of a father and learning from an ex-military man and his old buddies was something totally different. He learned what made you a bully and mean and what made you good at controlling the violence that flowed through his veins. He learned a lot from them and he kept learning, even after he left them.

She had pulled a job unlike anything she'd ever done. The rush from it was exhilarating, and she pulled it off! She had hung from the side of the building for over an hour just so she could safely sneak into the main office and break into the safe. Sure it probably hadn't been that safe, especially with the used and old equipment she had bought from local thrift shops and pawn shops, but it had worked and now she had a couple thousand dollars. She could afford to eat out, spend a night in a nice hotel. She wouldn't have to be alert all night long, she could sleep and relax for a few nights. Plus the rush! The whole thing was so easy, and so much fun. She was going to have to do another one again.

He killed a man. He didn't mean to do it. He'd been told to retrieve a statue from the man in the house. He went in, and pulled out his gun. People were always a lot more willing to listen to you if you had a gun. He hadn't meant to shoot him, but he moved to quickly and he startled and pulled the trigger. Now it was too late, he killed someone and he couldn't take it back. It didn't matter that he hadn't meant to, the man was still dead. He grabbed the statue, made sure not to touch anything else and ran from the house. He gave the statue to the man who hired him, got his money, and went back to his hotel room and threw up for an hour. He killed a man. He hated guns. Hated them.

She was 17 when she pulled her biggest theft to date. It had been the Cairo museum. She stole quite a few priceless objects and it was almost easy. She loved it. She went by Parker now, from her favorite character in a book she read. She didn't want to be who she was before, from now on she was Parker, a thief. Maybe someday she would even be the best. But that didn't matter, she just wanted to continue stealing stuff. She loved the feeling she got when she was in the middle of a job. She loved the money she got afterwards too. Money was her best friend. It never let her down, helped her, and it never lied. Not when it was real anyway. Money was the best. Who needed anything else when there was money?

He was 20 the first time he accepted a job overseas. He had no idea what he was in for but he survived it. He killed again and again, and his hate for firearms only grew. He learned the difference between them and he made sure he knew how to use them all. Ignorance may be bliss for some people but it'd only get him killed someday. Instead of using a gun he kept knives on him at all times and learned how to use them, he also continued learning how to fight. He was never done, he wanted to learn everything. He forced himself to work at it, day after day until he wanted to drop in exhaustion but still he pushed himself. He needed to be the best, he needed to be faster and stronger and able to take the punishment anyone threw at him. He wouldn't ever be anyone's victim. Not again.

She almost died today. But she didn't.

He was captured, toyed with and tortured. He survived.

She's continued to steal things and once or twice she even heard about someone trying to hunt her down, but they never get close. She wants to laugh at them. She isn't being overly confidant, but she knows they wouldn't catch her. To catch someone they have to make mistakes and she doesn't. She doesn't have attachments either so they can't track her easily. She doesn't even know where she is going next most days, so why should they? The only constant in her life was money. She was always careful too. Most of her childhood had been spent trapped or locked away and listening to rules. No one was going to do that to her now. She would make sure they never found her, no matter how hard they looked. She'd keep moving, stay below the radar and never make connections. Who needed people anyway? She had everything she needed and all she wanted was money.

He's older and wiser now. He knows that killing is a part of his life but that doesn't mean he enjoys it. He does it when he can't get out of it and knocks them out when he can. He's fast and he has his own code of honor. Not that anyone else can understand it. It's his and his alone and no one needs to know. He still hates guns, but he knows how to use them. He's learned control. Control over his anger and control over his life and emotions. He can kill you with a knife in more ways then you can count and he can charm any female he wants to. He likes to think that he doesn't have a heart, but he knows there's a soft spot that's so guarded it would take the world's best thief to catch a glimpse of it. He's trained himself that caring for others only leads to trouble and danger and he's never going down that road. He's learned that he can only depend on himself, that everyone has a price, and that given the chance someone will always let you down.

They're both older and wiser now. They're both part of a group, a team, a family. Something they never even imagined was possible for either of them. They both care about this new world, this new connection. They aren't used to it, but they would do almost anything to keep it. They would throw out their rules, change themselves, to keep it. That goes against everything they ever taught themselves but for once, that doesn't seem like such a bad thing. They help others too, help others from bad people while still doing what it is that they are best at. It feels great and they know that it'll never be the same now. They've been changed and they didn't notice until it was too late. But now that it's happened, it isn't so bad. It could be a good thing. Because now they have the pieces they were missing. They belong.

And it isn't as scary as they thought it would be.

* * *

Leaving

* * *

He's watching from his bike as the planes fly away. He's watching them all go their separate ways and can't help but feel like something was missing. They all had grown so close, almost like a family and now it's all over.

They left.

Everyone leaves at the end.

You would think that he wouldn't forget that. But for a brief time he actually did. It was kind of nice. But now all he's left with is the truth.

"Hey." A soft voice says from behind him.

Eliot whips around and is surprised.

Parker is standing there behind him.

"I thought you left." He said, stunned. He had _seen_ her get into the plane and saw it take off. How the hell did she get off?

Parker shrugged and picked at her jacket. "I didn't want to go." She said and looked at him. They were the only two left now. Everyone else really had flown away. They wouldn't be appearing like she did.

Eliot only paused for a moment before he tossed her his helmet. "Put that on and get on and hold tight." He told her, then turned around and moving forward slightly, so she would have room behind him.

After a moment he feels her move climb on behind him and her arms wrap around his waist.

"Where are we going?" She asks loudly as he starts the bike.

Eliot grins but she couldn't see it. "I don't know. But there are museums everywhere Parker, I'm sure we'll find something for you to steal." He teased, feeling better suddenly.

"And someone for you to beat up." She yells and holds on tighter as he pulled away.

Eliot laughs.

He was wrong.

Not everyone leaves, not always.

* * *

Lessons

* * *

"Parker." Eliot growled as he came into her office. "Stop it."

Parker looked up at him, eyes wide and filled with an innocence she didn't have. "Stop what?" She asked.

"Stop playing the guitar. You're butchering it. The guitar isn't supposed to make sounds like that so I don't know what you're doing, but please, stop it." He said.

Parker pouted and looked down at the guitar she was holding before looking up at him. "I just wanted to learn how to play it." She said and suddenly Eliot felt like a heel.

Sighing he came into the room.

"Alright, I'll show you the basics." He told her coming closer to her and sitting down beside her.

He held out his hand for the guitar and Parker handed it over. He started going over which strings were which and things he thought she needed to know. Then he handed it back to her and watched her struggle to get her fingering right. When she couldn't he came up behind her and adjusted it so her hands and fingers were in the right position to play.

Which was when Hardison walked in. Hardison only saw Eliot holding Parker and the guitar closely to him, and Eliot talking to Parker in a low voice.

"Hate to interrupt but Nate wants us all in the conference room." Hardison told them, grinning.

Eliot and Parker looked up at him and Eliot glared, knowing where Hardison's mind was going.

"No." Eliot said. "It isn't what you're thinking Hardison, so don't go there." He warned but Hardison only grinned wider and wiggled his eyebrows.

Turning around Hardison headed to the conference room only he started singing as soon as he was away from the door.

"Eliot and Parker sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, than comes marriage, than comes baby in the baby tree…"

"I'll kill him." Eliot growled, standing up. "What is he? Three?"

"I don't get it." Parker said and looked up at him.

"It's just a stupid song Parker." Eliot said, hoping she wasn't going to go all weird on him and ask him where babies came from or something. Then he really would kill Hardison.

"What? No. Which cord is G again?" She asked and looked at the guitar. "This one? Or is it that one?"

Eliot hesitated before pointing out the correct one.

Sometimes he really didn't understand these people.

"So when are you going to show me how to play this thing?"

* * *

Ride

* * *

"No."

"Parker-"

"No."

"Come on, you've got to do this."

"No, I really don't."

"It's not as bad as you think. I thought you had gotten over this anyway." Eliot states.

"Petting a horse and trusting my life to one are two completely different things." Parker tells him, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

What had started as an innocent ride had turned into something really not fun. She hadn't expected Eliot to be going to a horse stable when she jumped into his truck with him. This is what being bored got her.

She would work on not being bored again, but that was a little too hard. Instead she would try to never be bored around Eliot again. Not if this is what it got her.

"Look, Bessie is one of the best horses here. She's great with beginners."

"Bessie? You're going to trust my life and safety to something named Bessie?" Parker questioned.

"What's wrong with the name Bessie?" Eliot asked, defensive.

"Oh god, you didn't name her did you?" Parker asked. Honestly, nothing was wrong with the name but at the moment she would take any excuse she could. Right now she was betting she could pick a big enough fight with Eliot to make him forget this whole insane idea.

There was no way she was riding a horse.

No way.

"I didn't name her." Eliot growled out, starting to loose a little of his patience.

"Sure." Parker said, blinking up at him.

Eliot sighed than stared at her. "You're getting on the horse Parker. Your only choice is between Bessie and riding by yourself, or riding on Stanton with me."

Parker narrowed her eyes. "I'm not riding them at all, Eliot." She said and crossed her arms.

They both stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

"Pick one Parker." Eliot growled out.

"No." Parker told him. "It's not going to happen."

Ten minutes later they are still unsure who the winner is. Both of them are on the ground, rubbing new bruises, and in Eliot's case, a few bite marks.

"Damn-it Parker, why can't you do this?" He demanded.

"Because I'm afraid!" Parker exclaimed.

Eliot softened a little. "I know. But it's safe, nothing is going to happen. I don't want you to fear horses anymore." He said, leaning a little closer.

Parker sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine." She said than opened them. "But if anything bad does happen, I guarantee you'll never find all the pieces to your truck again."

Eliot grinned at her. "Deal." He had a few other trucks stored away anyway so he wasn't too worried, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"Come on, you'll ride Stanton with me. This way there's no chance that Bessie will run away with you."

Parker glared at Bessie and stood up. Eliot stood up as well. They had a few grass stains, and were a little mussed up but that was it. Luckily, they hadn't rolled into anything gross.

Eliot held out his hand and waited until Parker took it before tugging her closer and leading her to Stanton's stall he showed her how to get him ready to ride.

Later on when they were riding together Parker kept her eyes closed most of the time and kept her arms tight around Eliot as she listened to him talk. He sounded happy, which made her glad that she had gone along with him but she still wasn't comfortable on a horse. But she knew that Eliot would keep her safe, and that was enough to keep her from hating it.

Besides, maybe it wasn't _so_ bad.

* * *


	6. Protective

Five Times: Protective

By: AyLee Cambell

Rating: pg-13

Summary: Look at the title, or just read below… :P

Warnings: None that I can think of… Not beta'd.

* * *

An~ I'm going to Las Vegas at the end of the week! I'm so excited about it! I leave on Friday and come back later the next week. I'm so excited for it! I SO need a vacation people! Work is just….work. (I need time AWAY! I've been working _**WAY **_too much!) :P

Please let me know what you think! I love reviews! (who doesn't?)

* * *

1. Risks

* * *

"What? No!" Eliot protested, looking at Nate like he thought he was crazy.

"Parker can't go in there alone. There are armed men in there Nate. Men who don't hesitate to kill. You can't just send Parker in there, what the hell are you thinking?"

"Parker can do it. They wont even know she's there." Nate told him, waving away Eliot's concerns.

"And if something goes wrong? Then what? We all get to listen to Parker get shot and not be able to do something about it? You're not sending her in there without some backup." He said, crossing his arms and staring at the older man.

Sophie looked between the two. "Nate, Eliot has a point. While I don't doubt Parker's abilities, we should plan in case something goes wrong. This do tend to happen. You wouldn't send any of the rest of us in there by ourselves would you?" She asked.

Nate paused for a moment and thought about it. Sophie tried not to hit him as she waited for his response.

"No. You're right. Eliot you'll go in through the back and try to blend in and stay out of the way. Only make yourself known if you have to and get out of there as soon as Parker does, got it?" He said and Eliot nodded, relieved.

Eliot turned and walked out of the room but he still heard Sophie starting to lecture him on looking out for your team. He shook his head and walked down the hallway towards his apartment.

**

"Do you think that Nate believes in my skills that much or that he just doesn't care about the risk?" Parker asks in a low voice as soon as he settles down on his couch.

Eliot almost flinches but instead he just tenses. He hadn't heard or seen her come in.

He took a moment to relax and turned to look at her, but her words hit him. She had heard the argument they'd been having. Shit.

"When you do things like this everyday? Just appear out of nowhere? I think Nate thinks you wont be in any danger at all. I'm just more cautious, and I don't like the risks. Small as they may be."

"If you go in there you'll be at risk, higher risk then I would be." Parker said and turned to look at him. "Maybe that's why Nate didn't want anyone else in there. You don't have to go. I'll be fine."

"I'm going in Parker. The risk to me isn't all that great. They aren't going to ask questions about seeing another guy like me in there. You, they'll kill on sight, or worse. I ain't gonna let that happen." He said and pulled her to his side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder then with his other hand he grabbed the remote and to turned on his TV.

"Everything will be fine darlin'. I'm just not willing to risk anything happening to you." Eliot told her and flicked the channels until he came to a game with teams he liked.

"Why?" Parker asked, voice low.

Eliot looked at her, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Because I care." He told her, a small smile tugging at his lips before he turned back to the TV.

"Now how familiar are you with football? Should I start explaining the game to you or do you know all the rules?" He asked.

Parker smiled a little bit. "You're going to have to explain. I don't watch football usually." She said. She liked that he cared, that he wasn't afraid to say so. It was still a new concept to her. To care about people, and be cared about.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

With that thought she squirmed for a moment and cuddled a little closer to his side.

Eliot's hand squeezed her shoulder, before pointing to the screen with his free hand.

"Alright so you have two teams…"

* * *

2. Timing

* * *

"Parker, you've got to ditch him and make your way into the vault room." Nate's voice said, coming over the comms.

"I'm trying to, but he wont leave me alone." Parker growled out, trying to make sure no one heard her.

She was pretending to be a guest at the party so that she could find a moment to sneak away and get the item they were sent in here to find. It was a small item, not worth too much, but priceless to the original owner, which it had been stolen from.

But before she could slip away she had caught the attention of one of the other guests and no matter what she did or tried she couldn't get away from him.

She was currently looking for something sharp, but knew that she would have to lure him towards the bathrooms in order to use it.

"Well try harder. You need to get in there soon." Nate told her.

"I am." Parker hissed, getting angry. "Hey buddy! Don't touch me there!" She said to the guy who had just tried to cop a feel.

"Parker no forks!" Nate said, a little panicked. They couldn't afford all the attention that would cause.

"Relax Nate, I've got this." Eliot said, as he moved in closer to Parker's position.

"Hey." Eliot said, his hand coming down on the guy's shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing? Leave my date alone. And if I see you or you're hands anywhere near her tonight I'll make sure you don't have hands anymore, so you wont be able to bother anyone else." He told the man, glaring all the way.

"I um," The guy stuttered, looking between Parker and Eliot. "I- bye." He said and walked away fast, sweating a little.

Parker looked at Eliot with relief. "Thank you."

Eliot nodded at her, a smile on his lips. "Anytime darlin'. But next time if a guy touches you and you didn't want him to, just break his finger, he'll get the message." He said and watched as Parker grinned.

She wouldn't have to search for anything sharp, she could just do that. She liked the idea.

"I will." She said, still grinning and looking for the way she needed to go to get out of the room.

Eliot watched her go and didn't stop smiling, even when Nate started lecturing him on what he should and shouldn't tell Parker.

* * *

3. Uncomfortable

* * *

Normally, Eliot liked women. Normally, he enjoyed flirting with them, and he really enjoyed what usually happened later on. Everyone knew that. They also knew there wasn't a woman he couldn't charm if he wanted to.

Occasionally though he went out and didn't want to flirt with anyone, or pick anyone up, or charm them. Most of the time he wasn't in a good mood or he was just trying to relax and enjoy a night out with his friends or his "new family".

Tonight they were down in the bar under Nate's apartment and in Hardison's new building. He had been playing pool with Hardison, who had challenged him to a game and was now demanding best out of 15.

Nate was going through files upstairs to find their next client, because since he was no longer a alcoholic he was now a workaholic.

Sophie and Parker were sitting at the bar and talking about who knew what. Probably shoes. But he didn't think Parker would be quite as interested if they were, so probably diamonds.

But he was in the middle of making a shot when a woman grabbed his ass.

In some situations he might have been okay with that, but at that particular moment he wasn't. He didn't like people touching him without him knowing about it beforehand. They didn't have to tell him that they were going to touch him, if they were in close enough to do so it was because he allowed them to. If they touched him and he didn't want them to, it usually ended in violence.

Spinning around with a low growl he glared. He didn't care if the redhead was hot, she had just committed a violation. "Look Lady," He started but she leaned forward and kissed him while throwing her arms around him.

Eliot kept his lips closed the entire time she was kissing him, which wasn't long. As soon as he got his arms out from her grip, which he tried to do without hurting her, he pried her off.

"Lady, you need to sober up." He said, glaring as he took a few steps back.

If something pissed him off like nothing else it was someone violating his personal space and taking something from him he wasn't willing to give. He may flirt and charm women, but he never took anything they weren't willing to give him.

The redhead just smirked at him and took as step closer. Eliot crossed his arms. He didn't hit women, not unless they hit him first, but he was slightly tempted to shove her away. If he wasn't convinced she'd fall and maybe hurt herself he would have. His momma, god rest her, had taught him some manners before she died. So no matter how annoying she was, he would have to find another way to deal with the redhead.

"It's more fun if you relax." The redhead said, trying to lean against the pool table in a sexy way. It might have been sexy if she hadn't just forcefully kissed him.

"I ain't interested, so pick someone else." He told her, and kept an eye on her while he scanned the room. He wanted to be prepared for if she started moving.

So far, they hadn't caught too much attention. Hardison was smirking and slightly laughing at him from across the pool table, and he'd remember that later, but they had caught Sophie and Parker's attention and a few of the regular's attention as well.

Sophie and Parker were looking at him, so he sent them a panicked, 'help' look. Sophie leaned in and said something to Parker and then Parker was walking over to him and he relaxed just a little.

Parker could hit a girl. She'd probably do it with very little persuading necessary.

"Can't. I want a cowboy. My friends and I come in here sometimes just to see if you're around." She told him, and took a step towards him.

Eliot took a small step back. Great, that just made his skin crawl. In another situation he might have been flattered, but not now.

"I ain't interested." He repeated.

"I can make you interested." She said, and walked into his space again. This time he didn't move he just glared and she smiled and tried running her fingers down his arm. "I know how to make men interested."

Eliot tensed then grabbed her hand and held it tight. Not tight enough to hurt, just enough for it to be uncomfortable. He pushed her back again, though only enough for her to back away a few steps and not enough for her to fall like he was tempted to do.

"I ain't interested and I'm with someone else." He said, seeing Parker in his peripherals. She was almost right behind him. Eliot held out his hand, behind him and to his side and when Parker put her hand in his he gently yanked her to his side, where he put his arm around her and cuddled her close.

"See? So you need to stop."

The redhead frowned as she looked at them. "You're lying. I've seen you two together, but you're not a couple."

"We are, but it doesn't matter. You're making him uncomfortable, so you should leave. Eliot wont hit a girl, but I will. So unless you want a broken nose you wont bother us anymore." Parker said and glared at the other woman.

Eliot leaned his mouth against Parker's ear, so he could whisper without anyone hearing. They would probably just think he was kissing the side of her face. "Thanks darlin' I wasn't sure you'd get it fast enough." He told her, remembering a few times that she had protested things because she wasn't aware of what was going on.

Parker turned her head toward his chest so no one would be able to see her lips. "Sophie said to play along, that this was like a mini-con. I'll really kick her ass though, if she pushes it." She said and felt him laugh.

"Thanks darlin' I know you will." He said and he really did kiss her on the forehead before looking back to where the redhead was a moment ago. Only she wasn't there now.

He scanned the room and when he came to Hardison the other man just pointed to the door. He wasn't laughing anymore, but he was still grinning slightly.

"She left while you two were talking. Apparently you two are a convincing couple. It is rather sweet to see you two so close." Sophie said, coming up beside them.

She had half expected them to spring apart at her words but neither did. Instead they let go of each other, but still stayed standing close together.

"Aw man, she left. I wanted to fight her." Parker said, looking around, as if hoping she hadn't left but simply took a bathroom break.

Hardison smirked, coming over to them as they all decided, without talking about it, to head back upstairs. "I'm sure you'll get another chance to defend Eliot's honor. What with him being such an irresistible beef-cake." Hardison teased.

"You'd think he'd never been hit on before. Oh man, Eliot was afraid of a girl." Hardison continued and Eliot turned to glare at him.

"Hardison shut up. I don't hit girls, not unless they hit me first. _You_ however, aren't a girl, so shut it."

"So why did Parker go and not you, Sophie? Aren't you the actress?" Hardison asked after a moment. They were all currently going up the stairs.

Sophie turned slightly and shot him a look. "Because I can con people into believing what I want them too. I don't fight unless it's life or death. Parker could do both, and was willing to fight. Besides, I think those two make a more believable couple." She said, smiling slightly.

"You two do realize that everyone in this building believes you're a couple now right? You wont be able to convince them otherwise." She said and watched Parker and Eliot look at each other and shrug.

Neither one really cared what people thought anyway.

"So?" Eliot asked and Hardison choked.

"What?" Hardison whispered but Sophie pulled him into Nate's apartment to give the two a private moment.

"Thanks Parker." Eliot said in a low voice. It wasn't often that he needed someone to help bail him out, but it was nice to know she was there if he needed her to be.

Parker shrugged. "She was making you uncomfortable. I didn't like that. You protect all of us, sometimes it's okay to let someone else protect you." She said and gave him a small smile.

Eliot smiled back.

* * *

4. Storm

* * *

"No."

"Eliot come on." Parker pleaded.

"No, Parker. No." Eliot said, arms crossed.

"Please?" Parker pleaded, opening her eyes slightly and tilting her head to the side. She has seen it work for Sophie before, of course that was never on Eliot…

"Damnit Parker, no." He told her, closing his eyes briefly.

"You made me ride a horse! This is only fair."

"Riding a horse is different! That was safe, this is just crazy!"

"But I do this all the time! I know when it's safe!" Parker protested, holding her hands out. "Come on! Give me my harness back!"

"It's a storm out there Parker! That's rain, wind, and lightning. If you think I'm letting you repel the outside of that building your crazy. I don't care what you're trying to get. You can wait until tomorrow." He said.

"But tomorrow will be too late! I have to get it now!" She said.

"No Parker!" He said.

"Fine!" Parker said and crossed her arms. She send a glare his way then turned and started walking away.

She had more then one harness. So what if he had her favorite one, she could use another one. But now he thought he won, and that meant she could sneak out a whole lot easier.

She was just barely out the door when she heard him behind her and she tried to make a break for it, knowing that if she didn't get out of there now he wouldn't let her out until the storm was over.

"Oh no you don't." Eliot said, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up. "You think I'm falling for that one?" He asked as he brought her back inside.

"That almost worked, you almost believed it."

A smile tugged at his lips, but she couldn't see it.

"Almost." Eliot told her as he carried her back into his living room.

He tossed her gently onto his couch and pointed at her.

"Stay. Do not make me come after you." He said and left the room.

Parker debated leaving or staying there and decided that she was just curious enough to see what he had planned.

Eliot came back into the room and looked at her.

"Give me your hand." He said, holding out his.

"Why?" Parker asked, turning on the couch so she was looking at him.

"Parker." He said sighing.

"Fine." Parker said and held out an arm. "What now?"

Eliot worked quickly. It only took him a second to handcuff her wrist and a second more to handcuff his own.

Parker looked at her wrist then at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. It took a moment but she finally snapped out of it and narrowed her eyes, studying the handcuffs before looking up at him again, this time the look on her face said she was insulted.

"Handcuffs are really easy. You know that right?"

Eliot looked at her. "Yes, I know that. That's why you're handcuffed to me."

"Cause you're really easy too?" Parker asked innocently.

Eliot looked at her.

"No more spending time with Hardison." He told her then moved over to sit by her on the couch.

"You touch the handcuffs and I'll tackle you." He told her when her free hand drifted to the cuffs.

"I've gotta go pee." Parker protested.

Lightning flashed outside, followed right after by thunder. Eliot looked out the window, where they could see the rain pouring down. Then he turned back to her.

"Tough." He'd seen her hold it for hours before, if she really had to go she could hold it now.

There was absolutely no way he was going to let her go out there now. No way at all.

* * *

5. A Ghost of the Past

* * *

Hardly anything scared Parker. So far the thing that seemed to scare her the most was horses. She did things that would terrify normal people daily. She jumped off buildings, she disarmed and made small explosives, and she stole anything that caught her eye.

She found all of that fun, and was always up for a job where she could use her skills, or that would get her money.

So when she froze in the middle of checking out the gallery they were going to steal from, the gallery had used blackmail to get some of their items and they were just going to give them back to their rightful owners, Eliot knew something was wrong.

Parker didn't freeze, not on a job.

"Parker? What's going on?" Nate asked when Parker's voice cut out right in the middle of telling them what security measures the gallery had.

"I-" Parker said then froze again. "I can't." she said and hurried towards the women's bathroom.

"Parker?" Sophie asked, concerned as she tilted her head away from the people she was talking to and whispered to her friend.

"I got it." Eliot said, since he was the closest to Parker and the only one who had seen the look on her face as she dashed into the bathroom.

Walking into the girls bathroom was something he had hardly ever done, but something he had had to do before, and he never enjoyed it. Looking at the woman who was shooting a nervous look at Parker, who was leaning against the wall while sitting on the floor, he pointed to the door.

"Out."

The woman nodded and fled and he locked the door after her and came to sit next to Parker.

"We're taking the comms out." Eliot said then took his from his ear and put it in his pocket. When Parker didn't move he took hers out as well.

"Parker what's wrong?" He asked, sitting down next to her.

Parker didn't say anything, didn't look up at him, just shook her head.

"Look darlin' you have to tell me so I can help okay?" He told her, laying a hand on her arm.

Parker looked up at him and he was startled to see that her eyes were shining slightly from the beginnings of tears.

"You can't help me with this Eliot. No one can." She said quietly.

"That's not true darlin'. Just tell me what it is." He said, moving his hand so he could cup her chin in his hands. "I want to help Parker. Please let me help you." He told her.

Parker's face crumpled and she threw herself into his arms. Her shoulders started shaking slightly and he realized she was crying silently.

Eliot silently cursed because he had no idea what had set her off, so he had no idea how to help her, how to make things better. So all he could do was gather her into his arms and run his hands up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"What happened Parker?" He asked quietly, hoping she would tell him this time. He moved so he could lean his back against the wall.

Parker froze for a moment then relaxed and started talking into his chest. Her voice was low but just loud enough for him to understand her.

"It was someone from my past. A foster home of mine, when I was younger. He was here. He's here. I just- it wasn't a good place, Eliot and I was there for a year. I tried to be good but-" She said and broke off. "I tried to tell, but they wouldn't listen, no one would listen to me. They told me I was lying. That it was all for attention. They didn't believe me, not until-" She stuttered out then stopped and hugged him closer. "I just can't go back out there. Don't make me go out there. Please."

Eliot grimaced and hugged Parker tighter. "No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. You don't have to go out there if you don't want to. I promise." He told her and Parker nodded.

Eliot looked at Parker, looked at how she was curled up in his arms, head buried in his chest and body curled up so she was sitting mostly in his lap. His anger rose just seeing her like this, knowing that someone was responsible for it and he was out there somewhere. Somewhere close by, close enough for Eliot to get a hold of and teach a lesson. But that would mean that Parker would have to point him out and he wasn't going to ask her to do that. But it didn't stop the rage from knowing someone hurt her and was close by and there was nothing he could do about it.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "You'll be fine now Parker. I've got you." He told her then got his comm out of his pocket.

"Nate, we're going to have to come back later, Parker isn't going back out there right now. You said we still have a couple days, we'll just have to come up with a new plan.'

"What's going on. Everything's in place now, why are we waiting?" Nate asked.

"Nate, not today." Eliot said.

"But-" Nate started, not sure what was going on, but wanting an explanation.

"Nate. Listen to Eliot. How is Parker doing?" Sophie asked in a low voice, still out in the middle of people and trying not to have anyone notice she's talking to herself.

"She'll be fine, she just needs some time. Hardison, get me a copy of the guest list if you can." Eliot said. Parker may not be able to point the guy out but maybe she could tell him the name of the bastard.

"Sure man, no problem." Hardison said, unnaturally subdued.

They all seemed to understand now, something was wrong with Parker. And not in the usual ways with Parker, something off, something wrong-wrong. Something bad. And now they were all concerned.

"Take care of her Eliot. Get back when you can. We're pulling out." Nate said.

"Got it." Eliot said and took the comm out again. He looked down at Parker, who was still hiding her face but she wasn't crying anymore.

"Do you want to stay here until it's safe or get out of here?" He asked and Parker finally looked at him.

Her eyes were a little red but she didn't look bad. "I want to leave. Just promise you wont leave me alone?" She asked, looking at the door and probably picturing the person who was out there.

Eliot squeezed Parker. "I promise." He told her and watched as she attempted a small smile at him.

Taking a breath they both stood up, and he took her hand, knowing she would probably want the physical reminder that he was there. She threw a smile at him and walked to the door with him right behind her.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down Parker unlocked the door and opened it up, taking a few steps out only to freeze in horror.

Standing across from them, leaning against the wall was a man a few years older then both of them.

Eliot looked from the man to the way Parker was standing stiff in front of him and put two and two together. This was the man from her past.

Seeing them the man straightened up. "So I was right, it was you. You look different now, all grown up. Still, I could recognize you anywhere T-" He said but was interrupted before he could finish talking when Eliot dropped Parker's hand and lunged out and grabbed him by the shirt.

Eliot lifted him up and threw him into the bathroom. He sent Parker a look. "I'll be right back darlin'. Just wait for me here, I'll only be a minute."

Then Eliot walked into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. He came out a little over five minutes later and looked at Parker and held out a hand.

"Ready to go?" He asked her.

Parker nodded and took his hand and they started walking towards the back exit.

"Did you kill him?" Parker asked a few minutes after they got into his truck.

Eliot looked at her briefly before turning back to the road.

"No. But he'll be wishing that I did for the rest of his life." He told her.

Parker nodded, then put her hand over his on the stick-shift. Eliot paused a moment before linking their fingers together. A small smile tugged at his lips.

Parker would be okay. She just needed time. And he'd be there for her, no matter how long it took. He promised her he would be.

* * *


End file.
